SACRAMENTO, Calif. — As hundreds of thousands of Californians are still waiting to collect unemployment benefits, state district attorneys have announced that inmates from across the state have been accused of scamming the Employment Development Department.
So far, more than 35,000 unemployment claims have been filed in the names of serial killers, rapists, and murderers on death row. Prosecutors estimated that this is one of the biggest cases of taxpayer fraud in state history.
William Pranskat, a mechanic in Sacramento, said he’s outraged by the extensive fraud and has been struggling to receive any unemployment payments for months.
For the past two years, Pranskat has been making a living working on cars. The mechanic was passionate about his work, but as soon as the pandemic hit, he lost most of his income.
“I barely get any work because of this COVID," said Pranskat. "I mean, I don’t know what else to do."
Pranskat explained the only way he could survive was by filing for unemployment benefits through the state’s Employment Development Department, or EDD.
“I sit here, and every day I’m calling and I’m stressing to them that look I have family issues,” he said.
He applied in March and waited for four months until EDD finally approved him. Pranskat has a two-year-old son to raise, a home to take care of, and now, a funeral to pay for. Recently, he lost a family member to COVID-19.
“I try not to cry at night to show my two-year-old that we’ll make it through,” Pranskat added.
He received funds for about two months but said the payments stopped in October when EDD updated its system. He explains that he fell victim to fraud within Bank of America, which handles the EDD debit cards. Pranskat is now $4,000 in debt.
“When I try to email EDD, I get no response back. I have over three pages on my account for emailing them, nothing — no response,” Pranskat said.
When California District Attorneys announced that thousands of inmates received paychecks from EDD in their names, including death row inmate Scott Peterson, Pranskat said it felt like a slap in the face.
"I was outraged because, why should they be getting checks when they’re not working?" said Pranskat. "People like me that are independent contractors, people that are actually out there trying to make a living are the ones that should be getting it."
EDD said in a statement that they have been working with the assistance of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General on cross-matches with inmate populations to identify suspect claims.
Pranskat is now a month behind in rent and in need of a replacement stove after it broke down on Thanksgiving. He explained that without any money coming in, Christmas doesn’t look any brighter this year.
“I got my Christmas present: my boys. But what could I give them in return? Nothing."
Even since the pandemic began, he says it’s just been one bad break after another.
"I don’t know what else to do," he said. "I’m trying to keep it together, but at the same time, when is it enough? When people are out on the streets now?"
He says he’s close to giving up on the EDD, but with a family to look after, he has no choice but to keep trying to make ends meet during these unprecedented times.